Where to eat in Venice

Anyone staying in a hostel in Venice at the moment and who keeps forking out their hard-earned pennies on expensive food may like to listen to the owner of a London bar whose establishment has taken as its inspiration the bacari (or small bars frequented by locals) and who has popped over the pond more than 20 times to research the menu for his own food joint.

Russell Norman is the owner of Polpo, native to the big smoke but which features tasty treats from a different culture. According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Norman believes it important for people on holiday in Venice to avoid "crappy tourist places", which can be identified by windows adorned with pictures of pizzas or with a menu that comes in six different languages.

Venice is, Mr Norman said, "one of the world's worst destinations for food lovers", although you shouldn't let this put you off, as the man is a great advocate of the bacari themselves, restaurants that typify "a side of Venice which is still alive and isn't Disneyland".

His first port of call for those new to eating well in Venice is the Ca' d'oro - Alla Vedova, which is one of the most renowned such diners in the city and is situated far from the tourist centre. Mr Russell described the polpette that are served up here, which are "delicious" apparently.

But gastronomic delights aside, there are other reasons for heading to Venice, as recently purported by Amanda Reynolds of the UK's Urban Design Group. She told Forbes journalist Tim Kiladze that the architecture of the city, coupled with stonework, footpaths and canals, "add to the mystery of a seductive place".